Issue 73 - Strengthening Royal ties

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Strengthening Royal ties

For distillery staff the visit of the managing director would usually herald a quick spruce up round the place and a lick of paint here and there, but when the VIP is royalty the pressure is ratcheted up.

First on the royal agenda was Islay giant Laphroaig which proudly holds the Royal Warrant as Distiller and Supplier of Single Malt Scotch Whisky to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

Distillery staff worked almost through the night to get everything ready for the royal party, and the visit went without a hitch.

Charles last visited the world famous distillery in 1994 and was shown round each part of the distilling process.

Arriving just as the rain began to fall, the Duke and Duchess met around 100 members of the public who had turned out to see the royal couple.

Later they were shown every stage in the whisky-making process. First, they were taken to the malting floor where the grains of barley are germinated and Prince PENDERYN VISIT Charles clearly enjoyed joining in to turn the barley and rake it.

They were then taken to the dunnage warehouse to sample some of Islay's finest malt whisky.

The Prince was overheard to say that he really enjoyed all the explanations of what he was tasting.

Commenting on the 10 Years Old cask strength edition he said: “The flavour goes straight to the roof of the mouth and then out through the head.” Distillery manager John Campbell, said: ”They were both very relaxed and enjoyed being shown round and I think they both enjo...